Former Galesburg mayor barred from using city equipment to clear sidewalks

GALESBURG — For at least 35 years, Gary Allen has used his own equipment to plow Galesburg sidewalks af­ter a snowstorm. Then about four years ago, while Allen was mayor, the city bought a snowblower for about $35,000 so a city employee could clear them.

Later, after money for clear­ing the sidewalks was cut from the city budget, Allen went back to using his own equip­ment and doing the work for free. Sometimes, when the snow was too heavy for his equipment, he used the city snowblower.

That will no longer be al­lowed, however, after the city attorney advised the council not to allow it.

“The attorney told us that it’s a bad idea because Gary is not on the payroll and is not a city employee, and the liability that could rise from that is un­thinkable,” said Mayor Sheila Garrett. “If Gary got hurt or if something flew out from underneath that snowblower and caused an accident or hurt somebody else, he’s not covered for it.”

Its insurance only covers city employees, the mayor said.

Allen can’t be put on the pay­roll at a nominal amount such as a $1 because he would have to be paid minimum wage, Gar­rett said. But the city has laid off a part-time public works employee because of lack of funding, so that person would have to be called back before Allen could be put on the pay­roll, according to the mayor.

In the meantime, the city’s $35,000 snowblower with a heated cab and four-wheel drive is not being used, said Al­len, who thinks the city could have made an exception to al­low him to use it.

A city ordinance makes resi­dents responsible for cleaning their own sidewalks, but police have been lenient in enforcing it because there are so many older people in the commu­nity who are unable to clear their own walks, according to Garrett. Allen said that’s one reason he started clearing sidewalks.

“There are so many folks in town who are elderly and are physically unable to do that or they are handicapped, or have a disability,” he said.

As long as his own equip­ment can handle it, Allen said, he will be out clearing the side­walks. “I’m just helping the city to move along a little bit,” he said.